The Rebirth – Part 1
Some historians may write of 2020s as a decade of death, destruction and war, and they’d be right. I, however, see this time as a period of necessary cleansing that prepared the way for the Rebirth. The culture, economy and technology of the time were slowly killing the planet. Reliance upon fossil fuels and nuclear power for energy was unsustainable, unhealthy and dangerous. The destruction of the times was a direct consequence of the way technology was used in pre-Rebirth culture. Their recognition of the sickness of the world’s culture is what led the Founders to organize Minerva.
Minerva was founded upon the principle of peaceful use of technology. Many of the scientists who joined Minerva before and during the War – I see no need to number or provide adjectives to this war; everyone who is familiar with recent history knows that there is only “the War” – did so because of their distaste with the military applications made from their research discoveries. When genomics researcher Craig Venter developed the first synthetic organism, he did so in hopes of furthering medicine and the understanding of life. Almost immediately, however, the war chiefs at the United States Pentagon began plans to investigate its military potential. Their perverse research eventually led to the biological weapon that caused the Plague of Fire, killing the majority of their own citizens in the aftermath of the War.
Many scientists, like Venter, defected from their respective nations and found their way to Minerva, where they would be able to research in and for peace. They brought with them all of their data and research past, including petabytes of data that would be lost in the coming War.
The War will be covered in detail in a future entry. Suffice it to say that when the dust settled, the world was finally free from the decaying, stagnant culture that threatened it. Small reserves of fossil fuels and pockets of nuclear power still remained, but by and large the Earth was able to begin the healing process. Due to Minerva’s relative isolation from the destruction of the War, and their collection of scientists, technicians and advanced technology, they were able to quickly emerge and begin to actively participate in the healing process.
The Rebirth required decades of determined work, but today, less than 100 years from the end of the War, Minerva has healed thousands of square kilometers of land around its base. We have developed and provided clean solar energy to all of our citizens, and are living in a healthy, Earth-friendly way. As other high-tech groups begin to encroach upon our land, Aegis has stood strong, as the shield it was meant to be, in protecting our ideals. It truly is a glorious Rebirth.
– Excerpt from “Minerva: Our Glorious Calling” from the Oculus Archives. The account of the events of the 21st century are simplistic, but accurate. The author’s employs a little too much Minervan propaganda for my taste, but as it is a good description of how the majority of the compound feels about our history, it suits my purposes.